Continental Philosophy

Philosophy Graduate Schools
Friendly to Continental Philosophy
Last Updated: March 1, 2007

Ferit Güven, Philosophy Department, Earlham College

This list is not the result of a systematic survey. It is based on personal knowledge of our faculty and flyers and catalogues for graduate programs in philosophy. Since this list has been posted online, it has also been influenced by email correspondence with graduate students and faculty. If you know of a program which ought to be listed here, or struck from the list, please let me know, and please be patient with the suggested updates.
"Continental philosophy" means the serious, non-analytic study of the history of philosophy. It is not generally true that continental philosophy is best studied in analytic departments. The following list includes exciting departments, which offer compelling and thought-provoking philosophy.

The schools are in alphabetical order. This is not a ranking. Of course, these schools are not equal in quality or in friendliness to Continental philosophy. I provide more information about some graduate programs (a very brief description and the list of the faculty). I only list those faculty members who concentrate on some aspect of continental philosophy. I do not list the other members of such departments, you can find them by visiting their webpages.

If you are looking for a Continental graduate program, you need to get current information on these schools (from their catalogues, from their web sites, or from their current students) and make your decision in that light. This list provides these links in order to make that job a little easier.
Boston College
Boston College has a good program. It is not predominantly continental. However, there are significant scholars in the faculty teaching continental philosophy.
The Faculty:
James Bernauer, S.J. (Ph.D., SUNY. at Stony Brook). Foucault and Arendt, Social Philosophy.
Richard Cobb-Stevens, (Ph.D., University of Paris). Phenomenology, Contemporary French Philosophy, American Philosophy.
Richard Kearney, (Ph.D., University of Paris.) Contemporary Continental Philosophy, Aesthetics, Ethics
Thomas Owens, (Ph.D.,Fordham University). Heidegger, Phenomenology.
William Richardson, S.J. (Ph.D., University of Louvain). Heidegger, Lacan, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis.
John Sallis, Professor of Philosophy: Ancient philosophy, 19th- and 20th-century European philosophy, aesthetics.
Jacques Taminiaux, Emeritus, (Ph.D., University of Louvain). Nietzsche, contemporary continental Philosophy, Political Philosophy.

Boston University
Boston University is also not predominantly continental.
The Faculty:
Henry Allison, Professor of Philosophy (Ph.D., New School for Social Research); Kant, Spinoza, German Idealism, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Philosophy
Daniel Dahlstrom, Professor of Philosophy (Ph.D., St. Louis University); Phenomenology, German Idealism, Aesthetics
Alfredo Ferrarin, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (Ph.D., Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa); German Idealism, Aristotle, Kant, Phenomenology, Aesthetics
Krzysztof Michalski, Professor of Philosophy (Ph.D., University of Warsaw); Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, continental philosophy.
David Roochnik, Associate Professor of Philosophy (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University); Ancient Philosophy, Greek Literature, Nineteenth Century Philosophy, Philosophy and History of Rhetoric
California State University, Long Beach, MA only
Catholic University of America
DePaul University (Chicago)
DePaul University philosophy program is mainly focused on continental philosophy, but it also concentrates on Feminism and Critical Race Theory. It is also strong in the history of philosophy. Unfortunately, the department webpage is not regularly updated.
The Faculty:
Peg Birmingham, Ph.D., Duquesne University, Associate Professor: Chair of the Department: political thought, ethics, and feminist theory, Hobbes, Rousseau, Arendt, and Foucault.
Tina Chanter, Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook, Professor: Beauvoir, Derrida, Kofman, Kristeva, Hegel, Heidegger, Irigaray, Lacan, Levinas, Merleau-Ponty
Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, Ph.D., Fordham University, Associate Professor: philosophy of race, modern African and modern European philosophy, philosophy of anthropology, and social and political philosophy.
David Farrell Krell, Ph.D., Duquesne University, Professor: Early Greek thought, Plato, German Idealism, Romanticism, and Contemporary European literature and thought.
Bill Martin, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Professor: Social theory and continental philosophy, Aesthetics.
William McNeill, Ph.D., University of Essex, Professor, Director of Graduate Studies: Heidegger, Modern French and German philosophy and Ancient Greek thought.
Darrell Moore, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Associate Professor: Aesthetics, political philosophy, and critical race theory.
Michael Naas, Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook, Professor: Ancient Greek philosophy and contemporary French philosophy, Derrida, Lyotard, and Levinas.
Kevin Thompson, Ph.D., University of Memphis, Assistant Professor: German Idealism, Contemporary French Philosophy, and the history of political theory.
Duquesne University (Pittsburgh)
Duquesne has a growing and effective graduate program.
The Faculty:
Fred Evans, Associate Professor: Contemporary continental philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of language, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of technology.
Eleanore Holveck, Associate Professor: Philosophy of literature, Feminism.
Patrick Lee Miller, Assistant Professor, Ancient philosophy and psychoanalysis.
Tom Rockmore, Professor: Modern philosophy, German Idealism, Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Marx, continental philosophy, Heidegger, Habermas, Lukacs.
Lanei Rodomeyer, Associate Professor: Phenomenology, Continental Philosophy, and feminist philosophy of the body.
Daniel Selcer, Assistant Professor: Early modern rationalism, 20th century continental thought, political philosophy, Philosophy of Film.
James Swindal, Associate Professor, Critical Theory, Habermas.
Wilhelm S. Wurzer, Professor: 19th and 20th century continental philosophy, Philosophy and literary theory. Film Theory.
George Yancy, Assistant Professor, Critical Race theory, critical whiteness studies, and philosophy and the Black experience.

Emory University (Atlanta)
Emory has a good program in continental philosophy.
The Faculty:
David Carr, Professor: continental philosophy, Husserl, and the Philosophy of history.
Thomas R. Flynn, Professor of Philosophy: Contemporary continental (especially French) philosophy, aesthetics, social and political philosophy, and the theory of responsibility.
Pamela M. Hall, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies: Ethics and moral psychology, medieval philosophy, feminist thought, and philosophy of literature.
Rudolf A. Makkreel, Professor and Chair: German philosophy since Kant, Phenomenology, hermeneutics, aesthetics, and philosophy of history.
Donald Phillip Verene, Professor: German Idealism, Italian Humanism, metaphysics, philosophy of culture, and philosophy of imagination, Hegel, Cassirer, and Vico.
Cynthia Willett, Associate Professor: Contemporary continental philosophy, ethics and social theory, race and gender studies, philosophy and literature.
Fordham University (New York)
Fordham is a good graduate program for continental philosophy. The department also has faculty who concentrate on religion.
The Faculty:
Babette Babich, Professor: Nietzsche, Heidegger
Michael Baur, Associate Professor: Hegel
John Drummond, Professor: Husserl
James Marsh, Professor: Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Lonergan, Critical Theory, Marx, Liberation Philosophy
John VanBuren, Associate Professor: continental philosophy, Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Heidegger, Levinas, French Poststructuralism Environmental Ethics
Merold Westphal, Professor: Continental philosophy from Kant to the present.
Georgetown University
Louisiana State University, MA only
Loyola Marymount University
Scott Cameron, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Fordham), Hermeneutics, Critical Theory, Environmental Phil.
Elizabeth Murray, Professor (Ph.D., Toronto), Phenomenology, Existentialism
Mark D. Morelli, Professor (Ph.D., Toronto), Hegel
Brad Stone, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Memphis), Foucault, Heidegger
Brian Treanor, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Boston College), Levinas, Marcel
Jeffrey Wilson, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Emory), Kant, Aesthetics

Loyola University of Chicago
Loyola has a fairly big department, not all concentrated on continental philosophy.
The Faculty:
John F. Bannan. Professor. Descartes, French phenomenology, Merleau-Ponty, Sartre, Levi-Strauss.
James Blachowicz. Professor. Philosophy of science, history of metaphysics,Hegel's Logic, contemporary epistemology, theories of discovery and inquiry.
Ardis B. Collins. Associate Professor. Medieval and renaissance philosophy, modern philosophy, especially Kant and Hegel, metaphysics.
Andrew Cutrofello. Associate Professor, Contemporary French philosophy, contemporary European philosophy, psychoanalysis, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche.
Patricia Huntington. Assistant Professor. Feminism, social and political philosophy.
David B. Ingram. Professor. Hermeneutics and critical theory, social and political philosophy, ethics.
Adriaan Peperzak. Professor. Ethics and political philosophy, philosophy of religion, metaphilosophy, Hegel, French phenomenology, Levinas.
Jacqueline Scott. Assistant Professor. Friedrich Nietszche; Nineteenth Century Philosophy; Ethics; African American Philosphy; Race Theory.
Hans Seigfried. Professor. Suarez, Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, German philosophy, American pragmatism, philosophy of language, philosophy of literature.
Marquette University
McGill University
Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), Miami has a strong MA program that prepares undergraduates as well as post-undergraduate students for Ph.D. programs. In that way it fills an important function that is fairly unique. Particularly strong in Feminist Philosophy.
Pascal Massie, Ancient philosophy, Medieval Philosophy, Contemporary Continental Philosophy, Modern Philosophy
William McKenna, Phenomenology, Epistemology, History of Philosophy
Elaine P. Miller, Aesthetics, 19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy, Feminist Theory
Gaile Pohlhaus, Feminist Philosophy, Epistemology, Wittgenstein, Social and Political Philosophy
Emily Zakin, Psychoanalysis, 19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Feminist Theory

New School for Social Research (New York)
New School has an effective graduate program.
The [permanent] Faculty:
Claudia Baracchi, Assistant Professor of Philosophy: 19-20th century continental philosophy; medieval philosophy; philosophy of art; political philosophy; ethics.
Jay Bernstein, Professor of Philosophy: Habermas, Critical Theory, The Frankfurt School.
Richard Bernstein, Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator of Psychoanalytic: American Pragmatism; social and political philosophy; critical theory; analytic philosophy.
Simon Critchley, Professor of Philosophy. Continental philosophy; phenomenology; philosophy and literature; psychoanalysis; the ethical and the political.
Nancy Fraser, Professor: globalization; social justice; multiculturalism; feminism.
Agnes Heller, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science and Acting Chair of Philosophy: Ethics; political philosophy; Hegel, Marx, and Lukacs; existentialism, philosophy of literature.
Gail Soffer, Associate Professor of Philosophy: phenomenology; hermeneutics; history of philosophy; metaphysics; epistemology.
Northwestern University (Chicago)
Northwestern offers some continental philosophy at the graduate level. The emphasis seems to be fundamentally critical theory, and Habermas. The program got better with the addition of new faculty.
The Faculty:
Penelope Deutscher, Associate Professor. 20th Century and Contemporary French philosophy, and Philosophy of gender
Robert Gooding-Williams, Professor. Jean Gimble Lane Professor of the Humanities (2000-2001). Ph.D. Yale University: Nietzsche, Du Bois, critical race theory, African-American political thought, nineteenth century philosophy, existentialism, and philosophy of literature
Cristina Lafont, Assistant Professor. Ph.D. University of Frankfurt: German philosophy, particularly hermeneutics and critical theory.
David Michael Levin, Professor. Ph.D. Columbia University: Hermeneutics and Phenomenology, Aesthetics, clinical psychology, moral philosophy and critical social theory.
Thomas A. McCarthy, John C. Shaffer Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. Ph.D. Notre Dame: German philosophy, social and political theory and philosophy of social science, Jürgen Habermas.
Terry Pinkard, Professor, Ph. D. State University of New York at Stony Brook: German philosophy, Kant and Hegel
Pennsylvania State University (State College)
There has been a lot of changes in the faculty. Penn State is now significantly weaker than it used to be.
The Faculty:
Veronique Foti, Professor of Philosophy: continental philosophy, phenomenology, continental Rationalism, ancient philosophy, philosophy of art, philosophy and literary theory.
Irene Harvey: Associate Professor: Contemporary French Thought, Postmodernism, Contemporary European Philosophy, Feminist Theory.
Dennis Schmidt, Professor: Post-Kantian continental philosophy, Greek Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Philosophy of Art
Shannon Sullivan, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies: Feminist philosophy, American Pragmatism, and 19th & 20th Century continental philosophy.
Purdue University (West Lafayette)
Purdue also offers an interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Philosophy & Literature, and Philosophy & Communication.
The Faculty:
Leonard Harris, Prof., African American and critical race theory
Jackie Marina, Assoc. Prof., religious studies, Kant
Martin Matuštík, Professor, Ph.D., Fordham University. Social and Political Philosophy, Critical Theory, Existentialism, Social Phenomenology
William McBride, Professor, Ph.D., Yale University. 19th Century Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy, Phenomenology, Existentialism, Philosophy of Law.
Dan Smith, Associate Prof., specialist in Deleuze and recent continental philosophy
Rice University
San Jose State University, MA only
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
The department got stronger with the new hirings in continental philosophy.
Sara Beardsworth, Assistant Professor, Nineteenth and twentieth century European philosophy, Kristeva and Psychoanalysis.
Anthony Steinbock, Professor, Contemporary French and German philosophy, phenomenology, social ontology and aesthetics.
Kenneth Stikkers, Professor, Philosophy of economics, contemporary continental philosophy (Scheler, Foucault).
Stephen Tyman, Associate Professor, 18th and 19th Century .European philosophy, Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger, phenomenology and existentialism.

St. Louis University
SUNY Binghamton, Graduate Program in Social Political, Ethical and Legal Philosophy (SPEL).
Faculty:
Bat-Ami Bar On (PhD, Ohio State University) Arendt, Social and Political Philosophy, Feminist Theory
Randy Friedman (PhD, Brown University) Husserl, Buber, Levinas, Philosophy of Religion
Robert Guay (PhD, University of Chicago) 19th Century Continental, Moral and Political Philosophy, Aesthetics
Max Pensky (PhD, Boston College) Critical Theory, Social and Political Philosophy
Lisa Tessman (PhD, University of Massachusetts) Ethics, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory
Melissa Zinkin (PhD, Northwestern University) Kant, Aesthetics, Feminist Theory
Donald Weiss ( Ph.D, Princeton University) Hegel, Marx, Political Philosophy, and Esoteric Philosophy

Stony Brook (Stony Brook)
Stony Brook has a strong and stable program in continental philosophy.
The Faculty:
Edward S. Casey, Professor: Phenomenology, philosophical psychology, aesthetics, theory of psychoanalysis.
Allegra de Laurentiis, Assistant Professor, Nineteenth-century philosophy, especially Hegel.
Kenneth Baynes, Associate Professor: Critical Theory, (Frankfurt School) and German Philosophy
David B. Allison, Associate Professor: Recent French thought, existentialism, Nietzsche
Jeffrey Edwards, Professor: Kant; History of Modern Philosophy.
Dick Howard, Professor: American, German, and French political theory
Don Ihde, Distinguished Professor: philosophy of science and technology
Eduardo Mendieta, Assistant Professor, Global ethics, discourse ethics, critical theory, theories of modernity, postmodernity, postcolonialism, and Latin American philosophy
Mary C. Rawlinson, Associate Professor: 19th-century philosophy; philosophy of medicine, aesthetics and literary theory, Hegel, philosophical psychology.
Hugh J. Silverman, Professor: continental philosophy, Contemporary European Thought Philosophy and Literature, Postmodernism and Cultural studies, Aesthetics
Donn Welton, Associate Professor: Husserl and contemporary continental philosophy.

Syracuse University,
Syracuse recently hired new faculty members to improve its continental offerings.
Linda Alcoff, Professor, Continental philosophy, Epistemology, Feminist Theory, and Philosophy of Race
Ken Baynes, Professor, Social and Political philosophy, Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) and Modern and Contemporary German philosophy.
Fred Beiser, Professor, History of Modern philosophy, The history of German philosophy (Kant and German idealism) and the English Enlightenment.
John D. Caputo, Professor, Contemporary Continental Philosophy, Phenomenology, Hermaneutics and Deconstruction. SUNY
Tulane University
University of California, Riverside
University of California, Santa Cruz, Program in the History of Consciousness
University of Kentucky (Lexington)
The Faculty:
J. Daniel Breazeale, Professor: History of Modern European philosophy, German philosophy from Kant to Nietzsche.
Ronald Bruzina, Professor: Twentieth-Century German and French philosophy.
Theodore R. Schatzki, Professor and Chair, Philosophy of Social Science, Social Theory, and 20th Century Continental Philosophy.
Chistopher Zurn, Associate Professor, Critical Theory, Philosophy of Law, Political Philosophy, and Philosophical Anthropology.

University of Louisville, MA only
University of Memphis
A good program in Continental Philosophy, but it also has a heavy analytic concentration. Recently lost some important members of the faculty to other graduate programs.
The Faculty:
Robert Bernasconi, Professor: continental philosophy, Hegel, race theory and social and political philosophy.
Leonard Lawlor, Associate Professor: contemporary continental Philosophy, Derrida, Deleuze, Merleau-Ponty, Husserl, and Nietzsche.
Mary Beth Mader, Assistant Professor, Twentieth-century Continental philosophy, feminist theory, and ethics.
Thomas Nenon, Professor: Husserl, Heidegger, Kant and German Idealism, Hermeneutics, and the Philosophy of the Social Sciences
University of Missouri at Columbia
University of Montana, MA only
University of Montreal
University of New Mexico
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Ottawa
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Texas, Austin
University of Toronto
Vanderbilt University (Nashville)
The department improved with the addition of new faculty.
Kathryn T. Gines, African American Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Diaspora Studies, and Race and Gender Theory.
Gregg M. Horowitz, Philosophy of Art and Art History, Political Theory, Psychoanalysis, Hegel, Freud, Adorno
Kelly Oliver, 19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy, especially Nietzsche, and Contemporary French Philosophy, particularly Kristeva, Subjectivity, Language, Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, Feminism, Theories of Oppression, Film Theory.
Susan Schoenbohm: Ancient Philosophy, Women's Studies, 19th and 20th Century Continental thought, and ancient Asian thought
Charles E. Scott, Nineteenth-century philosophy, Contemporary European Philosophy
John J. Stuhr, Political philosophy, ethics, 19th and 20th century American and European philosophies, philosophy and contemporary cultures.
David Wood, 19th & 20th Century Continental Philosophy, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Environmental Philosophy, Philosophy of Nature

Villanova University (Philadelphia)
Villanova used to have a good Ph.D. program, but lost a number of faculty members in the last couple of years. It also emphasizes religion.
The Faculty:
Walter A. Brogan, Professor: Greek Philosophy, contemporary continental philosophy.
Thomas W. Busch, Professor: Sartre's Ethics, contemporary continental philosophy
John Carvalho, Associate Professor, Director, Graduate Studies in Philosophy.
John A. Doody, Professor: Social and Political Philosophy, Critical Theory
Washington University
Yale University